Torchwood Rewatch: 1x01 Everything Changes

[lefaym]

Episode: 1x01 Everything Changes
Writer: Russell T. Davies
Director: Brian Kelly

This review contains spoilers for everything aired, up to and including Children of Earth.OMG, I ENJOYED THAT SO FUCKING MUCH. SERIOUSLY. GWEN LOOKED SO CUTE AND INNOCENT IN HER POLICE OUTFIT. JACK’S COAT WAS SWISHY. RHYS WAS LOVELY. JACK HAS A SHINY SMILE. AND

Comments

[fmanalyst]

Ianto as doorkeeper -- I think you're onto something here. It's a different kind of entry point than the newbie character. The doorkeeper controls who enters and who doesn't.

[lefaym]

Yeah, I'd never really seen it that way before, but since I'd been thinking so much since CoE about the way that Ianto has always been my access point for Torchwood, the symbolism of it really struck me this time around.

[fmanalyst]

A friend of mine who wrote her dissertation on medieval dream visions (Think Dante) is interested in how the dream vision developed into the magical portal story. Hmm, the more I think about this, I think you're onto something in terms of the genre switch. I need to think about this idea.

[lefaym]

That sounds like a fascinating disseration. Did she ever publish any of it? I think that the strong theme of death means that it's not implausible to think of Gwen's entry into Torchwood as a type of descent into the Underworld. (Hmmm... Gwen as Persephone and Jack as Hades? Gwen as one who can move between the two worlds, spending half her time in each?)

Let me know if you have any more thoughts on the genre-switch thing!

[fmanalyst]

THAT is excellent. Gwen as Persephone. That's an idea to explore. I need to head into the office and then go to the doctor's, but I'll keep thinking about all this.

[lefaym]

This idea excites me! I've always loved the myth of Persephone; I actually wrote a play based around it for high school drama.

Perhaps I shall write fic that draws on this mythology...

[fmanalyst]

Hades is served by Thanatos (death), Hypnos (sleep), and Charon (the ferryman). We've established Ianto as the gatekeeper, which makes him Charon. Suzie's fascination with the glove would seem to make her Thanatos. Let's make Myfanwy Cerberus. Perhaps Owen as Hypnos.

[fmanalyst]

Oh, and Lethe, the river of forgetfulness.

[lefaym]

Ah, this is all too damn perfect! Hypnos works well for Owen, with the plants, the rape!spray, etc.

What about Tosh?

[fmanalyst]

Hecate, esp. given her association with sorcery.

[lefaym]

Of course! :)

[phaetonschariot]

retcon? :P

[lefaym]

Exactly. :) But I think there's also the layer of forgetting one's self, becoming detached.

[phaetonschariot]

That also links, to me, to Torchwood One rising upwards whereas Torchwood Three goes underground. I like the image of T1 as the Tower of Babel as well, but there are so many things you can read into the symbology.

[lefaym]

Oooh! Or Torchwood One as masculine (phallic tower) and Torchwood Three as feminine ("caverns measureless to man"-- Mary even quotes that poem when she enters the Hub in GBG). Ironic, because the leader of TW1 is a woman and the leader of TW3 is a man, but still, there's potential there, I think :)